iOS 26.5 Beta: No New Siri Features — Delayed to iOS 27

Apple's iOS 26.5 beta shipped on March 30, 2026 — and for the second consecutive beta release, there is not a single new Siri feature inside it. The smarter, Gemini-powered Siri that Apple announced at WWDC 2024 is now confirmed to be a September problem, pushed entirely to iOS 27.

Two Betas, Zero New Siri Features — Full iOS 26.5 Delay Timeline

The pattern is now impossible to ignore. iOS 26.4 beta launched on February 17, 2026 with no new Apple Intelligence features. iOS 26.5 beta launched March 30 — same story. Two consecutive point releases shipped without a single improvement to the assistant Apple announced almost two years ago.

The original plan was bold: Apple revealed a deeply upgraded Siri at WWDC 2024, promising on-device personal context (Siri reading your emails, messages, and calendar to give personalized answers), third-party app control, and multi-step tasks (performing several actions from a single instruction). The first delivery target was iOS 18.4 in early 2025. That slipped. Then slipped again. Apple publicly confirmed in March 2025: "We anticipate rolling them out in the coming year."

Then, on January 12, 2026, Apple and Google made a joint announcement that raised the stakes considerably: the next generation of Apple Foundation Models (the core AI engine powering Siri) would be rebuilt on Google's Gemini infrastructure — one of the most capable large language models (AI systems trained on vast amounts of text and data) in the world. The expectation was that Gemini-powered Siri would start appearing in spring iOS updates.

iOS 26.4 arrived. No Gemini Siri. iOS 26.5 beta arrived. Still no Gemini Siri. According to 9to5Mac, "All signs point to putting everything inside iOS 27."

What Is Actually Breaking Inside Apple's Siri AI Lab

In February 2026, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported Apple had "run into snags" with the new Siri. The issues were specific and damaging for a product meant to compete with ChatGPT and Google Gemini:

• Query accuracy: Siri doesn't always process requests correctly on the first attempt, returning wrong answers or misunderstanding the intent
• Latency: When it does work, response times are too slow — breaking the feel of natural, real-time conversation
• Interruption bugs: In internal testing, the assistant cuts users off mid-sentence when they speak at a normal pace
• Multi-step failures: Siri struggles with compound instructions (e.g., "reply to my last email and set a 6pm reminder") — the exact showcase feature Apple demonstrated at WWDC 2024

A commenter on the MacRumors discussion thread — which attracted 150 replies within 24 hours of publication — put it simply: "The problem is they announced it two years ago and we've yet to see one hint of progress."

What iOS 27 Is Promising: Siri Becomes a Full AI Chatbot

According to MacRumors and Bloomberg reporting from late March 2026, iOS 27 — expected to be introduced at WWDC on June 8, 2026 and released publicly in September — is slated to ship Siri as an entirely rebuilt product. Here is what's reportedly in development:

• Standalone Siri app: A dedicated chat interface — like ChatGPT or Claude — with iMessage-style chat bubbles, a list of past conversations, and options to favorite, search, and resume chats
• Multi-step commands: Siri will execute sequences like "set an alarm, reply to my dad's text, and order my usual from DoorDash" from a single voice or text instruction
• Dynamic Island integration: A dedicated "Ask Siri" button and a glowing Siri icon within the Dynamic Island (the interactive pill-shaped cutout at the top of newer iPhones) with a translucent results panel
• Suggested prompts: New chats open with contextual starting points based on your current app, time of day, or recent activity
• Third-party extensions: App developers will be able to plug their own AI agents into Siri — so your banking app, productivity tool, or delivery service can respond directly through the Siri interface
• Rival chatbot routing: Apple reportedly plans to let users send queries directly to ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini from within the Siri interface

What iOS 26.5 Beta Actually Did Ship

Despite the Siri absence, iOS 26.5 beta 1 is not an empty release. Apple included several practical additions:

• Apple Intelligence in China: For the first time, iOS 26.5 brings Apple Intelligence features — writing tools, photo cleanup, and notification summaries — to users in mainland China, where they were previously blocked by regulatory requirements
• Notification Forwarding: iPhone notifications now route automatically to a connected Mac or iPad, reducing the need to pick up your phone for every alert
• Settings search overhaul: Redesigned search inside the Settings app makes it significantly faster to locate specific toggles and options
• Standard stability fixes: Bug fixes and performance improvements across the OS

None of these features touch the AI assistant functionality that has been the centerpiece of Apple's marketing since mid-2024. If you want to understand how AI assistants actually work under the hood, our beginner's guide explains it in plain language.

The AI Competitive Gap: Apple Siri vs. Google Gemini and ChatGPT

While Apple iterates toward a September launch, the competition is not slowing down:

• Google has shipped Gemini as a full Android assistant replacement — live voice conversation, screen-aware context (understanding what's on your display), and cross-app actions
• Microsoft has integrated Copilot (its AI assistant) across Windows, Office, and Edge, including real-time document analysis and email drafting at no extra cost for most users
• OpenAI's ChatGPT mobile app processes voice, images, and uploaded documents in real time, and can browse the web live during a conversation
• Meta has shipped Meta AI across WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook — reaching over 1 billion active users

Siri, meanwhile, still occasionally mishears a timer duration. The gap between what Siri can do today and what its competitors can do is measured in years, not product cycles. Apple's devices remain strong sellers, and its privacy-first positioning still resonates with a meaningful segment of buyers. But consumer trust in AI is already fragile — a recent survey found only 15% of consumers trust AI assistants to handle sensitive tasks reliably — and Siri's years of underdelivering have made that trust even harder to rebuild.

If iOS 27 ships everything Apple is promising, that will still arrive more than two years after the original WWDC announcement. Until September, if you want a capable AI assistant on your iPhone right now, you can set up ChatGPT or Claude on your device today — no waiting required.

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